Bruno Mars Covers Rolling Stone: Says Success Of 'Uptown Funk' Gave Him Anxiety About New Album

Singer Bruno Mars holds up the award for the Record of the Year, Uptown Funk onstage during the 58th Annual Grammy music Awards in Los Angeles February 15, 2016. ROBYN BECK, Getty Images

For Bruno Mars, toppling his chart-topping smash “Uptown Funk” seems like a daunting feat. The 11x platinum-single created tremors on Billboard and remained an infectious tune for months on end. So because of its incredible success, Bruno felt the pressure when he began gearing up for his new endeavor 24K Magic.

"Coming off the biggest song of my career, it was super-daunting to come in [the studio]," he said on the newest issue of Rolling Stone, in which he’s the latest cover star. "I don't know if people are going to love this sh*t... I don't know if radio is going to play it. But what I don't want to have happen is I put it out and say, 'Damn it, if I'd just done this and this, maybe it would have had a shot.'

He also spoke on his tireless work ethic when crafting a potential single in the wee hours of the morning and how he determines whether he has a smash on his hands or not. "We've worked on songs till 3 or 4 in the morning, like, 'This is gonna be the first single!' – and the minute I take it to the car, it's so obvious we were tripping," he said. "Something happens when you roll down your window and you can hear the traffic and real noise – the way people are actually going to hear it."

Also, in the interview, he joked about when Kanye called him out for winning a VMA Award for “Locked Out of Heaven” in 2013.

"I won one award!" he said jokingly. "But he was right about the pretty part. It's Kanye – bottom line, at the end of the day, we need Kanye. But what he said wasn't a sting. You can come at me all you want – I've set myself up for that. But I am my own biggest critic. Whatever anyone says to me, they don't know shit."